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HISTORY OF WELLFLEET 

FROM EARLY DAYS 
TO PRESENT TIME 



mu 



VIEW OF WELLFLEET 



Compiled by Everett I. Nye 
1920 



HISTORY OF WELLFLEET 



FROINT 

EARLY DAYS 

TO 

PRESENT TIME 



Compiled by 
EVERETT I. NYE 



1920 




EVERETT I. NYE 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT 



While much of the material herein contained is the 
result of years of research and interest in the annals of 
Cape Cod and particularly of Wellfleet by the author, he 
wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to the various 
authors of Cape Cod Histories from which many important 
dates and facts are taken. Namely: "Pratt's History of 
Eastham," "Freeman's History of Cape Cod," "Swift's 
Cape Cod," "Deyo's History of Barnstable County," 
"Rich's History of Truro," "Barber's Historical Collec- 
tions," and to the residents of Wellfleet and vicinity for 
their kindness to which he is indebted for many facts 
obtained. 

Credit is especially due to Miss Mary Otis Sparrow for 
appreciation, advice and assistance in arranging and pre 
paring the subject matter for publication. 

Thanks are also extended to Rev. N. Addison Baker, a 
native of Wellfleet, now pastor of a church in Bellingham, 
Wash., who, at the request of the author, delivered this ad- 
dress at the opening exercises of Old Home Week for which 
much of this material was prepared. 



Page Three 



FOREWORD 



These facts, collected through many years, but hastily 
compiled, make no pretense at literary merit, but are given 
with the hope that we may save from oblivion much of local 
history which posterity may enjoy. 

"What is writ, is writ, — 
Would it were worthier ! but I am not now 
That which I have been, and my visions flit 
Less palpably before me, — and the glow 
Which in my spirit dwelt, is fluttering, faint and low." 



Pag© Five 



EARLY HISTORY 



Geologists tell us that in the remote past Cape Cod was 
buried under the great glacier or ice cap, the pressure of 
the western edge forcing up the range of hills that from 
Sandwich to Brewster runs parallel to the shore line from 
one to two miles from the present beach. As the ice melted, 
the increasing volume of water cut channels across the Cape 
from east to west, leaving what we call hollows. Good 
examples in Wellfleet are Pierce's Hollow and'the Herring 
Brook Valley. The soil, washed from the hills, settled in 
the valleys and formed our salt meadows and swamps. 

It is possible that the adventurous Northmen 1000 
years ago discovered our shores, but of that there seems to 
be no certain evidence. The actual history of Cape Cod 
begins May 15, 1602, when having sighted land the day 
before, Gosnold found himself "Em])ayed within a mighty 
headland near this cape." He anchored in fifteen fathoms, 
where they caught so many codfish they were ''pestered" 
with them and threw them overboard. From this circum- 
stance he named the place Cape Cod. 

Champlain in 1605 comes next. From his description 
he seems to have entered Wellfleet Bay. 

John Smith in 1614 ranged the coast from Penobscot to 
Cape Cod and what had been previously known as West 
Virginia he named New England. He alsoi named Cape 
Cod, Cape James, but Gosnold 's designation prevails. 

The people mentioned, and many preceding and follow- 
ing them, were traders and adventurers, or as Smith writes, 
"Our plot was to take whales and to make trials of a mine 

Page Seven 



of gold and copper. If tliese failed, fish and furs were then 
our refuge." 

The greatest event in the history of Cape Cod and our 
country comes in /'The Landing of the Pilgrims." While the 
Mayflower laj^ in Provincetown harbor, the people under 
the leadership of Miles Standish, made three cruises, one 
by land and two in the shallop. The third one interests us, 
as then they sailed along back of the islands, around Billins- 
gate Point, then across the Bay to the shore, landing near 
the old Camp Ground in what is now Eastham, where they 
made camp for the night. The next day, some by land and 
some in the shallop, cruised the neighboring country and 
bay returning to their camp before night. Towards morn- 
ing they were attacked by the Indians with flights of arrows 
and plenty of noise. They returned musket balls for the 
arrows. The noise was soon cured by absent treatment and 
nobody hurt. They then proceeded on their way, finally 
landing in Plymouth. In all this there is no evidence that 
any of the Pilgrim party ever set foot on what is now Well- 
fleet, with the possible exception of the extreme southern 
end of the town. 

In 1643 Gov. Bradford and others made a survey and 
purchased of the Indian Sachem the territory now included 
in the towns of Orleans, Eastham and part of Wellfleet. 

The rights of the Indians in the shell fisheries and 
whales being recognized, the question was then asked ol 
George, the sachem, "Who owns Billinsgate?" "Nobody," 
he said. Then, tliey replied, "That land is ours also," to 
which the Indian assented. 

The land of Billinsgate was held for some time without 
consideration made to the natives. It was finally claimed 
l)y them and bought by the town from an Indian named 
Lt- Anthony, said tract extending from the northern limit oF 
Nauset to a little brook called by the Indians Sapokouish, 
and by the English Bound Brook. (This purchase was un- 
derstood to mean all the land within the bay north of that 
purchased of Sachem George.) 

Page Eight 



Vitur of\^llfleet:i 




DERIVATION OF NAMES 



Billinsgate. *Biniusgate I\Iarket in London has been the 
chief fish depot since 1464. In 1699 it was by William III 
made a free port where fish might be sold any day except 
Sunday. The original name is said to have been Belinsgate 
or Gate of Belinus, King of Britain, who was fellow adven- 
turer of Brennus, King of the Gauls, at the sacking of Rome 
360 B. C. Whether the name was applied to this part of 
the town because of the abundance of fish, or by reason of 
the free use of language, other than classical, by the people, 
is submitted for your consideration. 

Bound Brook Island derived the name by reason of 
being bounded by a brcok or creek; Merricks or properly 
Myrick's Island, from Wm. Myrick its owner. Griffin's 
Island, or properly Griffith's, probably from some person 
of the name who owned it wholly or in part ; a family name 
further up the Cape. There was an early attempt, but un- 
successful, to have this part of the town set off as a new 
town to be called Poole. Poole is a seaport on the English 
Channel in Dorset. When the town was finally divided 
Wellfleet was the name chosen. The termination floet or 
flete is Saxon and means a place where the tide comes in. 
There are several places on the east coast of England, Gun- 
fleet, Purfleet, Northfleet, Saltfleet and others, all situated 
on tide water similar to Wellfleet. A map of Essex County, 

. T,*,T^^^ ^^^^ P^^^ °^ ^'^^''^ '" London was built in the year 1000 
at Billinsgate for the accommodation of the fishermen, a small fee 
being charged. 

Page Nine 



England, in 1750 shows in the margin a picture of a barrel 
of oysters marked "W<x.llfleet Oysters and this statement: 
"On the north side of Blackwater Bay a wall was built to 
resist the encroachment of the sea. Near the wall the 
famous Wallfieet oysters are found." Is it not probable 
that some one from that locality, noting the similarity 
of natural conditions, selected the name? That also is 
submitted. 

To show how names persist when they do not strictly 
apply : 

"When our town was first settled, Billinsgate was con- 
tinuous land from Beach Hill to the extreme end of the Old 
Point. We still speak of "Billinsgate Point" and "going to 
the Point," when in fact it has probably been an island for 
more than a hundred years. 

The early settlers established themselves on the islands. 
They found these islands ideal homes. Their objects in life 
were first shelter, second sustenance. The bays furnished 
fish and fowl to an extent beyond our conception. But all 
the conditions changed so radically that by reason of the 
favorable location the northern part of Eastham advanced 
so rapidly in population and influence, that in 1723 Billins- 
gate was set off as a separate precinct, and in 1763 after 
the usual opposition by the parent town was, by a petition 
of ten freeholders, set off as a township to be called 
Wellfleet. 



Page Ten 



EARLY SETTLEMENTS 



The range of islands that separate Wellfleet and Barn- 
stable bays were among the earliest settlements. The loca- 
tion was the best possible as everything needed for their 
subsistence was at their doors. The waters and flats which 
surrounded them teemed with fish, fowl and shellfish to an 
extent beyond our imagination. Levi Whitman, in his 
"Topographical Description of Wellfleet," says: "The 
method of killing gulls, in the gull house, is no doubt an 
Indian invention, and also that of killing birds and fowl 
upon the beach in dark nights. The gull house is built with 
crotches fixed in the ground on the beach and covered with 
poles, the sides being covered with flakes and seaweed, the 
poles on the top covered with lean whale. The man, being 
placed within, is not discovered by the fowls, and while they 
are contending for and eating the flesh, he draws them in 
one by one between the poles until he has collected forty or 
fifty. This number has often been taken in a morning. The 
method of killing small birds and fowl that perch on the 
beach is by making a light. The present mode is with hog's 
lard in a frying pan. We suppose the Indians used a pine 
torch. Birds in a dark night will flock to the light, and 
may be killed with a walking cane." 

The first of the name of Rich came from Dover, N. H., 
and settled on the southeast corner of Great Beach Hill. 
Thos. Rich & Co. by deed of 1746 conveyed to Samuel Smith 
for £3 and 10s., parcels of land on Great Island which he 
had bought of sundry persons, the original deeds having 
dates of 1711, 1712 and 1715. Samuel Smith was an inn- 
Page Blfeven 



holder. His house was a little back from the road. Tradi- 
tion says that at the road was the enticing sign : 

"Samuel Smith, he keeps good flip, 
Good toddy, if you please ; 
The way is near and very clear, 
'Tis just beyond the trees." 

Great Island was depopulated before 1800, the last 
house, being in Smith Cove on the river side of the Island, 
was floated across the bay to Dogtown, a designation given 
to that part of the town between the village and South 
Wellfleet. 

Griffith's Island, the next in order, was a busy little 
neighborhood of twelve to fifteen families. Lying as it did 
between the Herring river on the east and Duck harbor, on 
the west, it offered every advantage possible for the prose- 
cution of their business as sailors and fishermen. 

Bound Brook Island, the last of the range completing 
the northwest corner of the town, was the last to succumb. 
It was a flourishing community of about twenty families, a 
store, and a schoolhouse with a sufficiency of scholars to fill 
it. The schoolhouse was sold about 1880. The belfry can 
now be seen as a well house at the David Baker homestead 
on the Island and the bell is now in a Wesleyan Chapel in 
Jamaica, W. I., being carried there by Capt. L. D. Baker, a 
native of Bound Brook Island. Six houses are now habit- 
able, owned originally by Elisha Atwood, Thomas Atwood, 
E. L. Atwood, Henry Atwood, David Baker and *Samuol 
Rich, later the Bryne place. They are now all vacant, the 
gradual shoaling and final closing of Duck Harbor and the 
increasing size of the vessels compelling the abandoning of 
the islands. 

The last house on Griffith's Island was burned in 1890. 



*There is good authority for the statement that the vessel that 
brought lumber for the Samuel Rich house came up the beach and 
discharged her cargo almost on the spot where the building stands. 
Also for the statement that on a Sunday morning thirteen chaises 
left the Island to attend church in the village. 

Page Twelve 



Bound Brook Island was depopulated at about the begin- 
ning of the present century. 

During the war of 1812 the fine English ship of war, 
Newcastle, from Boston to Provineetown ran ashore on the 
shoal ground abreast South Truro. Help was at once sent 
from Provineetown. Guns and other ordnance were thrown 
overboard. A shot of cable with sheet anchor was slipped, 
when she was gotten off; the cable had been buoyed to 
await a convenient time for the recovery of that and the 
other property. As soon as the ship was gone, the people 
who had been watching from the shore manned their five- 
handed whale boats and hastened to the scene. As the big 
hemp cable was too heavy to handle entire, it was underrun 
and cut into lengths convenient to handle, and was carefully 
unlayed and layed up again into boat rodes, and other small 
rigging, the superior quality and extreme scarcity of that 
material at that time making it a valuable find. The fore 
going is on the authority of the late Capt. Naphtali Rich, 
who was present and helped, and being a boy, had a half 
share. 

The hill to the northwest of the Elisha Atwood place 
was a famous lookout for whales. 



Page Thirteen 



CHURCHES 



In 1723 Billinsgate having been set off as a separate 
parish, a meeting was held to request Rev. Josiah Oakes to 
continue in the work of the ministry with them, offering to 
pay £80 a year, which he accepted. The new society seems 
to have gotten a bad start. Trouble commenced at once and 
continued until Mr. Oakes left the town in 1727. He was 
buried, however, in the old cemetery at Chequesset Neck. 

He was followed by Rev. Ezra Whitmarsh until in 1730 
Rev. Isaiah Lewis was hired at a salary of £110 in good and 
passable money, and what strangers and persons from 
neighboring towns, being providentially here, should add ; 
also £200 settlement in good money. 

They soon built a small meeting house in Chequesset 
Neck, 20 feet square, sufficiently large for the people, in 
1734 it was voted to build a new meeting house to the south- 
ward of the head of Duck Creek, Elisha Holbrook giving 
the land. 

The uncertain value of the circulating medium seems 
to have required frequent readjustment of salary to meet 
the depreciation in the current money, as both parties 
seemed disposed to do what was right and proper under all 
circumstances. The Reverend brother was honored and mueli 
respected, dying in 1786 in the 55th year of his ministry. 
Following Mr. Lewis, Rev. Levi Whitman was ordainc<l 
April 3, 1785. In 1765 the meeting house was enlarged by 
an addition of 18 feet, and a porch added with a steeple and 
vane. 

Page Fourteen 



In 1808 after 23 years' service the church offered Rev. 
Mr. Whitman $500 to ask for his dismissal to which he 
agreed, stipulating, however, that he should get the money 
first. 

He was succeeded by Mr. Timothy Davis, who was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. Stephen Bailey for eight years ; then a suc- 
cession of pastors followed, mostly for short terms, to the 
present time. 

The meeting house was enlarged in 1806. In 1829 a 
larger and better house was built with the addition of a 
tower and bell. In 1850 the present house in the village was 
built which in 1873 was remodeled and repaired at an ex- 
pense of $10,000. In December, 1879, the steeple and town 
clock were blown down, and replaced in a substantial man 
ner. The foregoing is a brief sketch of the Old F'irst Con- 
gregational church for 200 years. 

The Second Congregational church was organized De 
cember 4, 1833, in South Wellfleet, 42 members withdrawing 
from the First Church for that purpose. The church flour- 
ished and in 1861 a new pulpit and internal improvements 
were added. 

A more central location being desired the old church 
was abandoned and the Pond Hill schoolhouse was fitted up 
as a chapel where services were held, the Wellfleet pastor 
officiating. The old church was removed to Wellfleet in 
1919 to a fine location in the village opposite the Post Office, 
where it now stands awaiting completion. 



Page Fifteen 



THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL 
CHURCH 



As early as 1797 Rev. Robert Yallarly of Provincetowii 
had visited the town and preached. 

In 1807 Wellfleet was part of the Harwich circuit, Rev. 
Joel Steele, preacher. In 1811 it was in a circuit with 
Truro, and in 1827 a station by itself. 

The first class meeting was organized in 1802 with three 
members, Abigail Gross, Thankful Rich, and Lurana Hig- 
gins. Ephraim Higgins was the first class leader. In 181G 
a church was built on the hill north of the village, the first 
of that denomination in town. "When the growth of the 
society made a larger building necessary, the house was en- 
larged and galleries added. In 1842-3 great revivals oc- 
curred and all churches added largely to their membership. 

A new building was erected in the village which was 
at that time the most elaborate church edifice on the Cape. 
This church was struck by lightning and burned in 1891, 
and the next year the present building was erected. 

The Methodist church at South Wellfleet was built in 
1835 standing on the west side of the road, a little to the 
south of the old Congregational church. In 1838 Rev 
Anthony Palmer was the pastor who reported ''My salary 
was $100 clear cash, my board cost me nothing as I boarded 
round." Sometime in the fifties the church seems to have 
died of inanition and was later in 1869 removed to the 
Adllage and converted into a dwelling house by Dr. Geo. 
T. Wyer. 

Page Sixteen 



In 1819 a Methodist camp meeting was held in Soutli 
Wellfleet near where now stands the house of J. K. Lewis 
A fine spreading oak tree stands behind that house, perhaps 
a remnant of the original forest. From 1823 to 1825 the 
camp meeting was held on Bound Brook Island. 

The First Universalist society was organized in 1840; 
subsequent meetings were held in Lyceum Hall. In 1844 
the old Masonic Hall was remodeled into a suitable place 
for worship. The Union Hall was purchased in 1868, where 
regular services were held until 1889, and where services 
are now held during the summer season. 

There was a small Advent Society organized in 1866. 
A chapel was fitted up over the store of Mr. Payne W 
Higgins where is now the Public Library. Services were 
conducted by itinerant preachers for several years. 

Previous to 1900, considerable population having come 
to this place from the Azores, and from Nova Scotia, bein.;.^ 
Roman Catholics, and having no place of worship, priests 
from neighboring parishes made occasional visits and held 
meetings in some private house. By a vote of the town on 
October 1.9th of that year the town sold to Henry Delory 
for $59 the schoolhouse opposite the old cemetery. With 
that as a meeting place and with some assistance from inter- 
ested citizens a neat chapel was made, which was continued 
until 1912 when a lot was bought in the village, and a com- 
plete church and rectory was commenced, which by the 
skill and unremitting industry of those in charge of the 
work, particularly that of Rev. Joseph Eikerling, has been 
made a beautiful and attractive place much' admired by 
natives and strangers. 

An Advent church was built in South Truro, but by 
reason of some human mistake in calculating the date of 
the Divine appearing, or for some other reason, the church 
building was removed to "Wellfleet where as a store and 
later as a skating rink and tenement house it has served a 
useful purpose. 

Page Seventeen 



SCHOOLS 



The founding of the public school system of Massa- 
chusetts, and of Cape Cod as well, may rightly date back 
to Gov. Prince, the fourth governor of Plymouth Colony. 
He had a deep respect for learning and learned me:^, and 
established a school at Plymouth which was supported hj 
the profits of the fisheries of Cape Cod. This was fraught 
with such incalculable benefit that afterwards schools were 
sustained at public expense. 

Wellfleet from the time of its incorporation as a town 
has always been liberal in the support of the schools. At 
the first meeting it was voted to raise more money than 
heretofore for the education of their children, agreeing to 
pay the schoolmaster £26, 13s., 8d., with board, for his ser- 
vices and to choose a committee to rbgulate the schools. 

Of the earlier schools we quote from *Elien Freeman, 



*Further quotation from manuscript of Eben Freeman, Esquire: 

"Summer schools were kept by female teachers. I was fiv^ 
years old when I first entered a schoolroom, if it may be called a 
schoolroom. It was on the hearth of an old-fashioned fireplace. 
About ten scholars with seats all on the hearth of the fireplace 
Not allowed to go on the floor of the east room for that was sandod 
i'n lumps as was then the fashion. In those days the said east 
room resembled our salt marsh in the months of August and Sep 
tember, when the hay is all cocked up for many acres. The sand 
was dug out of the land, washed, and put in a kettle and heated to 
make it stick together, then taken in thimblefuls and placed neatly 
in patterns on the floor. 

"I learned the A B C's and &.c but the letter Z was then called 
izzard; and &c, I had to call ampersand. 

"The winter school the third year was kept by Thomas Atkin.s 
from the country. He brought one dozen spelling books. He sold 
them for twenty cents apiece. Some of the old women, and some 

Page Eighteen 



Esquire, manuscript written at the age of 75. He was born 
in 1790. "In those days there was always some one who 
went to sea in summer and. stayed at home in winter. 
The neighbors would select some such one to teach their 
boys, hire some kitchen in an old house, tit it up with rough 
seats and tables. 'School begins next Monday,' would be 
announced. They come. The master calls the names to 
see if all who applied are there. All in, he directs them to 
their seats. Those with slates and writing books sit at the 
tables or benches, and readers only sit on low benches. 
School begins. This is a private school. 

"The schoolmaster brings Pike's Arithmetic, the Bible, 
and Westminster Catechisms. The scholars bring the same 
if they have them. Some bring a book called the Psalter 
In some schools there was no arithmetic but the master's. 
The custom then was for the master to write his sums down 
on each scholar's manuscript so called. The scholar went 
to his seat and puzzled it out to prove it by reading the 
rule. A scholar who could read a chapter in St. John's 
gospel without spelling the words was thought a go 3d 
reader ; and if he could cipher as far as the rule of three he 
was then considered finished, left school and went to sea 
for a living. That was the case of the writer. ' ' 

About the year 1798 a number of men in the north pari 
of the town built a schoolhouse in 32 shares. It was located 
on the King's Highway north of the Herring Brook about 
fifteen rods south of Truro town line. It was the first* 
schoolhouse built in Wellfieet and maintained as a private 
school with seats for 32 scholars. They came from Truro 
and the Island over meadows and bogs, no bridges. Some 
of the scholars were more than 21 years old and some 10 or 

others said it would undo the country. They never never read in 
anything but the New Testament and Psalter. 

"When I was a boy of ten summers, being the fifth in a family 
of eight sons, four older than myself, I was reserved to make up lo.-'t 
time, perhaps one day in a week, when the others were absent, so 
I lost my winter school in the new schoolhouse." 

* A, tablet has been erected by Dr. Wm. Rollins of Boston to 
mark the spot where this first schoolhouse was located. 

Page Nineteen 



12. The first masters in the new house were brothers, James 
and Thomas Hatch. 

We quote from "History of Barnstable County:" "At 
the division from its parent town, Wellfleet at once assumed 
the prerogative of placing the schools upon a better basis. 
The share of the public money in the hands of the old town 
that belonged to this was at once handed over to the treas- 
urer of Wellfleet and the best master they could hire was 
placed over the schools, he to 'board round' and teach in 
divisions. At this early day no schoolhouses adorned the 
landscape and the schools were kept at private houses." 

In 1763 it was. agreed that terms of five week each be 
kept at James Atwood's, Joseph Atkins', Joseph Pierce's 
and Zoeth Smith's and the remainder of the six months at 
Widow Doane's. 

*In 1768 John Greenough was employed to teach a 
Grammar school one year, the school "to be attended by 
such only as learn Greek and Latin." The school for teach- 
ing "reading, writing and cyphering" was located in four 
different parts of the town, between 193 families — in the 
south part were 48 families, in the middle division 48, on 
Holbrook Neck, the islands and Pamet Point 49, and in the 
northeast part 48 families. The sum appropriated was £40. 
This gentleman, Greenough, fell into disfavor politically, 
and in 1774 another teacher for the Grammar school was 
secured. In this year the town was divided into eight 
districts. 

In 1807 the districts were reduced to five each with a 
teacher, besides a central Grammar school. 

In 1844 the town supported ten schools. 

In 1859 the town raised $2800. There were 12 schools 
with 600 pupils. 

In 1861 a committee was chosen for each district to fur- 
nish a proper teacher and to supervise the school. 



*This Greek and Latin school was kept in the old Ryder homo 
stead where now is a vacant lot opposite homestead of the lato 
Jerry Ryder. 

Page Twenty 



In 1866 the district system was abolished, a committee 
appointed to build new houses and $10,000 appropriated for 
that purpose. 

The same year, 1866, for the first time, a High school 
building was erected on the hill back of the residence now 
occupied by David C. Lombard. This location at that time 
accommodated pupils from the outlying districts of the 
town. Later centralization of town residences required Its 
removal to the village in 1889 to the place between Union 
Hall and the residence of the late Dr. T. N. Stone, where it 
now stands. Changes in school systems led to a better grad- 
ing and arrangement of schools, two buildings now accom 
modating all the pupils, distant pupils being transported 
to these points. 



Page Twenty-one 



INDUSTRIES 



Billinsgate and Wellfleet — the names suggest fish and 
fishing — as was probably intended by our earliest settlers. 
It is safe to say that nowhere on this coast were fish and 
shellfish so plentiful and so easily caught as in Wellfleet bay 
and Provincetown harbor. Gosnold speaks of the advantage 
of catching codfish near the shore in six or seven fathoms 
of water at Cape Cod, rather than far off in fifty or sixty 
fathoms in Newfoundland. 

Another inducement was the Avhaling business. Whales 
seem to have been plentiful in the bay and the disposition 
and ownership of those cast ashore was a matter of con- 
tention and controversy, but it was finally decided that for 
each whale so found the finder should send one hogshead of 
oil to Boston for the government. Soon, however, the new 
comers, unwilling to wait for death from natural causes, 
kept careful watch from the hills or from watch towers 
and gave the alarm when whales were sighted, and the boats 
were manned by willing hands and with harpoons and 
lances the whales were killed and towed ashore to the 
nearest try yard where the blubl^er was stripped and tried 
out. There were try yards on Griffith's Island, Physic 
Point* and at South Wellfleet below the Townsend place. 
There was a lookout on Bound Brook Island. The native 
Indians in the earlier days under the leadership of the 
white men were said to have been expert whale men. Capl . 



*Physic Point was so called because it was for a long time the 
residence of Dr. Warren Anson Kenrick, a noted pliysician. 

Page Twenty-two 



Jesse Holbrook of Wellfleet about the time of the Revolu- 
tion on oue voyage killed 52 whales. He was employed l)y 
a London company for 12 years to teach their employees 
the art of catching whales. 

Whaling was an established business Ijefore the Revolu- 
tion. In 1771 Welltleet is credited with having 30 whalers 
of 75 tons, each employing 15 men. It appears that they 
started out early in the spring, went to the Gulf of Guinea, 
west coast of Africa, returning in the fall, hauling up for 
the winter in the creeks and coves, on their return voyage 
often calling at St. Thomas to re-victual the ship. 

With the abundance of natural products of the sea, a 
living was easily obtained. There was not much to sell for 
cash excepting oil. That always had a ready sale in the 
London market, the profits from the business being the 
foundation on which the fortunes of some families were 
built, notably that of Capt. Elisha Doane, who at the time 
of his death in Boston had accumulated a fortune of £120,- 
000, and was the richest man in INIassachusetts. Hezekiah 
Doane of the same family was largely concerned in the 
whaling industry before the Revolution, owning 16 whalers. 
The Avar ruined the town, the inhabitants being diminished 
by deaths in prison ships and removals to Penobscot and 
other places, and the whaling business was never re-estab- 
lished to any great extent. 

Later, the cod and mackerel fisheries were the principal 
industries. In 1837 Wellfleet had 39 vessels in the business, 
3100 quintals of cod and 17,500 barrels of mackerel being 
taken and 496 hands employed. 

In 1851 there were seventy-nine vessels employing 852 
men. The business increased and was at its best between 
1860 and 1870, when about 100 vessels were employed. 
After that date it declined, till in 1884 there were 30 vessels 
employing about 500 men that landed 36,784 barrels. In 
1886 twenty-nine vessels landed only 3565 barrels wiiich il- 
lustrates the uncertainties of the business soon reducing it 
to the vanishing point. 

Page Twenty-tliree 



For the accommodation of the fleet, wharves and pack- 
ing establishments were built. The first wharf appears to 
have been built by Capt. Reuben Rich on Griffith's Island 
opposite White Hill, where the Herring River could be 
forded at low water, there being no bridge. The vessels 
from the West Indies with sugar, molasses and other staple 
commodities, discharged their cargoes into ox carts to be 
conveyed to the owners in this and adjoining towns. 

In 1720 the King's Road, so called, was laid out. About 
that date a road was projected from the King's Road fol- 
lowing the line of the present road through the village 
turning to the north over the hill near the old Bell School- 
house, to the next hollow, then passing the house of Lemuel 
Newcomb and around the meadow to White Hill, where 
the river could be forded, making a connection between this 
wharf and the King's Road. 

The second wharf was built by Thomas Holbrook in 
1788 on Duck Creek below the residence of the late Charles 
Marsh. When whales were caught in the bay they Avere 
secured at this wharf and tried out on Physic Point. 

About 1830 the depopulation of the islands and the 
vicinities near the back shore caused the centralization of 
the town around Duck Creek. John Harding built a wharf 
in Duck Creek about this time. The remains of a wharf 
probably built by Amaziah Atwood near Uncle Tim's bridge 
can now be seen. Samuel Higgins had a wharf near where 
the railroad crosses the creek. Enterprise wharf on the 
other side of the creek was built prior to 1837. It was 
abandoned in 1862. Commercial wharf, the oldest on the 
beach, was built in 1835 by Payne G. Atwood and Elisha 
G. Perry. Central wharf was built in 1863, the Mercantile 
wharf in 1870. These three wharves during the thriving 
years of the mackerel industry did a flourishing and profit- 
able business. Commercial wharf after a number of changes 
in ownership is now used as an extensive and valuable plant 
by firms engaged in the oyster business. Central wharf was 
bought by the town for a town landing and is now used as 

Page Twenty-four 










B&2^ 







A\rs V/^ H Tubaian 



' Capt Anthony Fre^ema^ j 

Country Hone- ^ •"■•'""«^/2/ ' 4, •*• 



^^^*- .1,: 

HI 




/Marshall I. Higoin^, Re^idei/ce- 




/^Rs. Valter. LiBBY.rtone- 



such. Mercantile wharf was bought by Capt. L. D. Baker 
aud the buildings remodeled forming the now popular, com- 
modious, and attractive Chequesset Inn. 

Two wharves have not yet been mentioned : the River 
Wharf which was built on the mainland opposite Great 
Island built in 1840 as a fishing and packing establishment, 
and one at South Wellfleet built by Boston men on the south 
side of Blackfish Creek. These, like the earlier wharves, 
have since fallen into decay. 

Salt Making-. The discovery that salt could be obtained 
from sea water by solar evaporation was made in 1799, and 
the need of that commodity for curing all kinds of fish 
stimulated that business to such an extent that in 1837 
there were 39 establishments in Wellfleet for the manufac- 
ture, and 10,000 bushels were made. The withdrawing of 
the state bounty, and the duty being removed, together 
with the development of the salt springs in New York, 
made the business lesS important and profitable, no new 
works being erected after 1860, and by 1880 the business 
was practically abandoned in Wellfleet. The shore from 
Milton Hill to the Barzillai Kemp place was covered with 
vats, and the windmills for pumping the water. There 
were works in the cove, on Griffith and Bound Brook Islands 
and in South Wellfleet. 

Oyster Industry. Oysters and other shellfish were 
found in the bay in great abundance at the first settlement, 
which not only afforded a supply for the inhabitants, but 
in time were taken to Boston and other places for sale. 
This business was carried on extensively and profitably to 
those engaged in it. Shops and stands were opened in 
Boston, Salem, Portland and other places, where the oysters 
were sold in quantities to suit the purchasers. 

In 1770 all the oysters in the bay died. What caused 
the destruction is not certainly known, but it is supposed 
that, as at this time a large number of blackfish died and 
came on shore where their carcasses remained, producing a 
very filthy condition of the water, it caused this mortality. 

Page Twenty-five 



Another surmise, possibly more credible, is that oyster 
seed, or spat, as it is called, is deposited on shells or stones. 
At the date mentioned, the accumulation of shells, or oyster 
rock, that caught the spat, was broken up and used to make 
lime for building purposes. As a consequence, there were 
no seed oysters in Wellflcet bay until about 1900, when the 
experiment of bringing shells from Wareham and other 
places was commenced, and pursued with varying success.* 

The inhabitants of the town tried the experiment of 
bringing oysters from the South in the spring and layiu;^ 
them down on the flats, which succeeded well. By the fall 
of the year they had increased in size and their quality was 
much improved. 

This soon became d large business and a number of 
vessels were employed in the spring of every year in bring- 
ing them here, the number of bushels in some years amount- 
ing to about 150,000. Nearly all the oyster shops and 
stands in Boston and in other towns and cities in this state 
were supplied from this place and were kept by persons b.}- 
longing to this town. This business afforded a living for 
many families. 

About 1890 the business of buying seed oysters in Long 
Island Sound and planting them in Welltieet bay, to be taken 
up on their maturity and prepared for market, was started. 
Buildings were erected for handling the product, Avhich in 
1903 had reached the amount of 200,000 bushels. Since that 
date there has not been a set of oysters in the Sound, but 
the quantity of seed in AVellfleet bay has increased to a con- 
siderable extent, the quantity of oysters on the bed at tliis 
time being about 100,000 bushels. t Qauhaugs and clams 



*The desirability of re-establisliing tlie industry is shown bv 
the action of Eastliam in 1774 when that town chose a committee 
to "join with one from Welltieet to propagate the growth of oysters 
in that Bay." What action, if any, was taken does not appear. 

fA good set of oysters occurs only about once in three years, 
when the shells are taken up and planted in deep water to grow. 
In the off years, however, the shells are scattered by the ice, and 
the seed are abundant and make an easily caught and readily sold 
product. 

Page Tweuty-six 



have always been plentiful, some years as many as 150 per- 
mits having been granted to eitizens and which to them 
has been an important industry. 

Ship Building. The first vessel built in Wellfieet of 
which we have any record was the schooner Freemason, 
built under the hill below the Thomas Atwood place on 
Bound Brook Island about 1800. This craft was of 100 
tons burden, Capt. Reuben Rich, owner. 

A shipyard was established on land owned by Samuel 
riiggins in Duck Creek by Henry Rogers and sons James, 
Edward, Charles and Sydney. From 1848 to 1853 eiglit 
schooners were built, named Simeon Baker, J. Y. Baker, 
J S. Higgins, Benjamin Baker, R. R. Freeman, I. H. Hortou, 
George Shattuck and Varnum H. Hill. In 1863 the schooner 
St. Cloud was beached on Great Island. This schooner was 
rebuilt by Giles Hopkins and named the Louie A. Swett. 
Later the Clara D. Swett was built by Theodore Brown 
near the old Town Landing. Later two sloops were built 
by Nathaniel Snow for Capt. L. D. Baker for use in coast- 
wise banana trade in Jamaica, W. I. This was the begin 
ning of the now prominent United Fruit Company business. 
Smaller craft and scows for the fish weir business were built 
by Nathaniel Snow and Theodore Brown. 

A careful investigation by inquiry from the most re 
liable sources shows the number of schooners hailing from 
Wellfieet since 1820 to be 357 of which 46 sailed from SoutJi 
Wellfieet. 

Windmills. Early maps of Wellfieet shoAv a windmill 
on Bound Brook Island, between David Baker's house and 
the beach, and owned by David Baker. There was also one 
at Pamet Point, the last miller of which was Thomas Hig 
gins. There was one to the north of Perch Pond called 
Freeman's mill, the mill stone of which last served as a 
doorstep to Elisha Freeman's tannery. The Samuel Ryder 
mill, so called from its original owner, was built in 1765 on 
the hill north of Squire's pond which is still known as Mill 
Hill. The original mill was torn down in 1838 to make room 

Page Twenty-seven 



for a better one and the latter prior to 1870, having been 
damaged by lightning, was moved and by additions con- 
verted into the summer residence now known as the Morn- 
ing Glory. Samuel Chipman's mill stood east of the present 
village near the King's highway. About 1839 its timbers 
were perverted to other uses. The mill stones were later 
used as doorsteps at the Morning Glory cottage. 

In the absence of water power these grist mills were im 
portant in grinding the local supply of grain. 

There was however, a mill located in the creek below 
the Hamblen place, deriving its power from the ebb and 
flow of the tides. The mill was built by Thomas Holbrook 
whose daughter Lucy married Lemuel Newcomb, whose 
house was to the north of the old Hamblen estate, and on 
the line of the old road. One of the mill stones is now in 
front of the residence of Arthur H. Rogers, whose wife was 
the great granddaughter of Lemuel Newcomb. 



Page Twenty-eight 



WRECKS 



Unless we accept the evidence presented by the Prov- 
ineetown historian, of the visit of the Northmen to that 
locality in 1004, (Hist, of Provincetown 1890), the Sparrow- 
hawk from London to Plymouth, which was cast ashore at 
Potanamaquot Harbor in what is now Orleans, in 1626, and 
exposed by the washing away of the beach in 1863, (the 
rudder and some other remains being now in Pilgrim Hall, 
Plymouth), is the first wreck to be recorded in this vicinity. 

In the month of April 1717, a pirate ship Whidah ot' 
23 guns and 130 men, Samuel Bellamy, commander, ven- 
tured upon the New England coast near Cape Cod, and after 
having taken seven vessels, several of the piratical crew 
were transferred to one of the prize ships. The men soon 
became drunken and slept. The master of the vessel ran 
her ashore, and the pirates were secured. Six of them were 
taken to Boston and executed. April 26 the pirate ship 
itself was wrecked at South Wellfleet; the whole crew, ex- 
cept one Englishman, and an Indian were drowned. Capt. 
Cyprian Southack, sent by the government to the scene of 
the disaster, found and buried 102 bodies. As late as 1863 
portions of the wreck were disclosed at times. To this day 
Spanish coins are sometimes found in this vicinity. 

The following extract from Justin Winsor's "Memorial 
History of Boston" may be of interest in this connection: 
"Concerning the pirate Bellamy's ship Whidah or Whido, 
wrecked at South Wellfleet April 26, 1717 : In August 1698, 
leaving his ship Queedah Merchant in Hispaniola, Kidd cama 
to America and was put in jail. He proposed to Gov. Bella- 
Page Twenty-nine 



mont that he should be taken as a prisoner to bring back tlio 
Queedah Merchant. He stated the value of the treasure in 
the ship to be £50,000 or £60,000, which would not otherwise 
be recovered. This request was refused. Twenty years 
later the ship Whidah was wrecked on Cape Cod. It is not 
a violent supposition that when Kidd's men found their 
captain gone they took the Queedah Merchant for them- 
selves. Twenty years is not a long life for a vessel built in 
the East Indies. It may be that Kidd's lost treasure ship is 
the same vessel under another name that was wrecked on 
Cape Cod twenty years later." Around this tragic occUv'- 
rence there have growii local traditions more interesting 
than authentic. 

Probably the worst storm of which there is any record, 
as measured by the 'loss of life and property, occurred dur- 
ing the gales of December fifteen, seventeen and twenty-one, 
1839. It seems to have expended its force on Cape Cod, 
Boston, and the north shore as far as Newburyport. In the 
account published in 1840, the recapitulation gives the dam- 
age as one barque, 17 brigs, 68 schooners and one sloop lost. 
The loss of life was estimated as 150 to 200 : fifty lost at 
Gloucester alone in the first storm. Besides this 23 ships and 
barques, 22 brigs, 168 schooners and five sloops were dis- 
masted, driven ashore or greatly injured. The destruction 
of property must have been nearly $1,000,000. This does not 
include those foundered at sea, nor some that went to pieces 
so that no intelligible record of their loss is left behiu'l 
During the first gale 21 vessels went ashore from Province - 
town to Eastham. While wrecks were numerous in the bay 
and on the back sliore there is no record of any vessel being 
lost from Wellfleet. 

In 1779 the ship America of "Wellfleet, Capt. Wm 
Doane, was lost with all on board consisting of twenty-three 
men. 

The l)arque Cactus from Boston to Ireland in 1847, willi 
a cargo of grain for tliat famine stricken country, was 
wrecked at South Wellfleet and all hands lost. 

Page Thirty 



In 1849 the ship Franklin from London to Boston witli 
a valuable assorted cargo was wrecked at Newcomb's Hol- 
low. Of the passengers many were drowned as was also 
the captain and some of the crew. It appeared from the 
Captain's private papers picked np by Capt. Isaiah Hatch 
that the ship was purposely wrecked. 

*The same year the English mail steamer Cambria, 
bound to Boston, ran ashore at about the same place. After 
a few days she was pulled off and proceeded on her voyage. 
While getting out an anchor one of the crew, t John Anson, 
had his leg broken and was left behind and remained here 
during his life. 

The ship White Squall from Singapore to Boston with 
a valuable cargo of coffee, tin and other East Indian prod 
ucts, was wrecked at Cahoon's Hollow in 1868. 

Since then there have been various wrecks, notably that 
of the Italian barque Castagna, but since the establishment 
of the Life Saving Service the loss of life and property has 
been greatly diminished. 

Vessels belonging to Wellfleet lost with all on board of 
which record has been kept : 

Schr. F. M. Dyer, Samuel Roberts, master, coming from 
Virginia. 

Schr. Moselle, Joseph S. Rich, master, wrecked on Bren 
ton's Reef, Newport, R. I. 

Schr. Lucy J. Keeler, John Eaton, master, coming from 
Virginia to Boston, never arrived. 

Schr. H. & R. Atwood, John Barnard, master, on a voy- 
age from Cape Breton. 

Schr. Ellery C. Anthony, Wm. Iliggins, lost on passage 
to Virginia. 

Schr. R. R. Freeman, Henry Smith, master, iced up and 
sunk in Vineyard Sound February 7, 1861. 



*The mail from the Cambria was relayed to Boston by lancT, 
being brought to the village in uncle Jack Newcomb's ox cart, 
thence conveyed to Yarmouth by Thomas Holbrook. 

tJohn Anson may be remembered by Wellfleet people as em- 
ployed in the family of Jesse Y. Baker for many years. 

Page Thirty-one 



Sehr. Empire State, Payne Jenkins, master, lost on first 
trip to Virginia, March 1853. 

Schr. Wm. H. Atwood, Hawes Gross, master, from Vir- 
ginia to Boston, wrecked on "Wood End, Provincetown. 

Sehr. Majestic, David Cole, master, March 1841. 

Schr. Spartel, Jesse Freeman,, master, in 1846 bound 
south with a partial cargo of mackerel; probably shifted 
cargo, and was lost with all hands. 

Schr. Flying Dragon, John Daniels, master, on passage 
to Philadelphia. 

Schr. Amos Fielding, Amos Fielding, master, coming 
home new from Cape Ann was wrecked and all hands lost. 
Vessel probably capsized. 

Schr. Emerald was sunk off Chatham and one man 
saved. 

When the number of vessels owned in Wellfleet is con 
sidered, the proportion of those lost is small, and these loss^^s 
confined mostly to those engaged in the oyster business, 
which from its nature was hazardous. 

By reason of the fact that it was a winter business, and 
that the perishable nature of the cargo made it necessary 
to reach the market as scon as possible, every advantage of 
wind and weather must be taken. The relatively small loss 
of life and property shows Wellfleet men to have been 
skillful navigators and hardy sailors. 



Page Thirty-two 











/^Ri'- Freeman S"now A Samuel Poi^i^f 



LIFE SAVING STATIONS 



The first effort to preserve the lives and relieve the 
sufferings of shipwrecked mariners on Cape Cod was made 
by the Massachusetts Humane Society in 1802, when on the 
report of Rev. James Freeman, D.D., huts were built on the 
back shore of Cape Cod where seamen cast ashore might 
find shelter. These huts were small wooden buildings with 
fireplaces and other conveniences. Those in Wellfleet were 
located at Newcomb's Hollow, Pearce's, Cahoon's, Snow's, 
and Fresh Brook, also one on Great Island, some person 
living in the vicinity by occasional visits keeping the huts 
in proper condition. 

After the wreck of the ship Franklin, better and more 
effective apparatus was added. This was brought about by 
the realization that in spite of the heroic efforts of our citi 
zens the great loss of life was due to lack of suitable gear. 

The present Life Saving Service was established in 1872, 
when a station was built at Cahoon's Hollow, with all 
modern life saving apparatus, a keeper and crew and beach 
patrol. 

These stations are manned by a brave and experienced 
captain and crew and are of inestimable value in saving of 
life and property. 



Page Thirty-three 



MARINE BENEVOLENT SOCIETY 



Previous to this, in 1836, a Marine Benevolent Society 
had been organized, and incorporated in 1840, having for its 
purpose the relief of shipwrecked seamen and their widows 
and orphans. This society was supported by the yearly 
dues paid by its members. At the time of its organization 
many shipwrecked sailors needed temporary assistance, not 
otherwise provided, and to them and their families in many 
instances valuable help was given. Later, assistance ,was ex- 
tended to others not of that class who were in need. 

After the establishment of the Life Saving Service all 
shipwrecked mariners were cared for at the expense of the 
government. Then the funds of this society were gradually 
expended in local charity until in 1904 the corporation was 
legally dissolved. 

During the 68 year=^ of its existence it distril)uted in a 
quiet and unostentatious manner nearly $13,000. 



Page Thirty-four 



LIGHTHOUSES 



By the energy and influence of Capt. Michael Collins of 
Eastham, a lighthouse was built on Billinsgate Island (The 
Old Point) in 1822. By reason of the washing away of that 
part of the Island it was removed to the northward on to 
higher land in 1858. Within quite recent years this was 
changed to an automatic light. 

The sea having encroached to the extent of undermin- 
ing the tower and house a new skeleton tower was built in 
1915 to the eastward of the old one. Two days later, Decem- 
ber 26, during a high tide and heavy gale the old tower 
tumbled into the sea. 

About 1839 a lighthouse was erected on Mayo's Beach 
at the head of Wellfleet bay. About 1875, a new tower and 
house were erected further away from the encroachment of 
the sea. Recently this also has been changed to an automa 
tic light. 



Page Thirty-five 



TRANSPORTATION 



In early days all transportation was necessarily by 
water. The packet system was established about 1800, as 
being the only means of conveyance of freight and pas- 
sengers between Wellfleet and Boston. 

After the close of the tishing season, which was abont 
the first of November, a company of men would take a ves- 
sel and go to Boston to buy winter stores sufficient for their 
families until navigation was opened in the spring. 

The first packet of record was the sloop Mary, 24 tons, 
built at Barnstable previous to 1812, followed by the sloop 
Hannah, built at Barnstable soon after the war of 1812 to 
1815. The sloop New Packet, built in Newburyport in 1819, 
struck on Minot'S Ledge and was lost. Four men were 
drowned. The packet sloop Pacific was built at Newbury- 
port in 1820 to replace the one lost the previous year. A 
second sloop Mary of 38 tons was built at Newburyport 
later. 

The requirements of the business demanding larger 
vessels, the schooner Swiftsure of 50 tons was built at New- 
buryport in 1826. The schooner Herald of 48 tons was also 
built there in 1830. 

The schooner Franklin of 55 tons at the same place 
was followed by the schooner Merchant of 57 tons and tlie 
Tremont 63 tons built in 1835. 

The schooner Golden Age, 75 tons, built in New Haven, 

Conn., was followed by the Sophie "Wiley, 69 tons, built at 

Dartmouth, Mass. The schooner Lilla Rich, 112 tons, was 

built at New Haven, Conn., followed by the Nellie Baker, 

Page Thirty-six 



126 tons, then the largest packet on the New England coast. 
The Nellie Baker was sold and afterwards lost on the Texan 
coast of the Gulf of Mexico. 

The Freddie A. Higgins, 100 tons, built at Kennebunk. 
Me., in 1882, was last heard of as a "famous sailer" owned 
in St. Andrews, N. B., and engaged in the coasting trade to 
U. S. ports. 

The diminished business, by reason of railroad exten- 
sion, requiring only a smaller vessel, the schooner J. H. 
Tripp, of 24 tons, was bought in Chatham and run as a 
packet for ten years, then sold to Provincetown, thus clos- 
ing a continuous and successful public service of nearly 
one hundred years. 



Page Thirty-seven 



RAILROADS 



The first railroad came to Wellfleet in 1870, and was 
extended to Provincetown in 1873. Previous to that all con- 
nection with Boston by land was by stage to the various 
points to which from Boston the road was gradually ex- 
tended, being brought first to jMiddleboro, then to Sandwich, 
to Yarmouth, and later to Orleans from which place it was 
extended to this town. 

The old stages were unique affairs, painted gayly in 
yellow and red, upholstered with leather and drawn by 
four prancing horses. These stages accommodated nine 
passengers inside and six or eight on top, and their daily 
arrival was an event looked forward to by young and old. 

The stable built to accommodate the stage line, wlicn 
Yarmouth was its terminus, was removed to Orleans and 
again to Wellfleet, and after its discontinuance for that pur- 
pose was sold by Samuel Knov/les to Capt. George Baker 
and the premises used as a lumber yard. 



Page Thirty-eight 



MAILS 



The first mail service that includes Wellfleet was es- 
tablished about 1801. For many years this was only once a 
week. Soon after 1820, on petition, the lower towns of the 
Cape received mail semi-weekly. It is recorded that at this 
time many refused to sign the petition on the ground of 
expense and because once a week was often enough. 

Ten years later mail was received three times a week, 
and daily about 1846. From this to a double service daily 
on the advent of the steam cars was a notable change. 

Samuel Thatcher of Barnstable was the first mail con- 
tractor so far as is now known. Mr. Thatcher's mail was 
carried in saddle bags holding about a peck. 

It was considered a matter of distinction to have a 
letter in the mail. In winter the mail carrier used to carry 
on one side of his horse a saw, and on the other side a small 
axe, to clear away obstructions when snowstorms compelled 
him to cross the fields. 



Page Thirty-nine 



INDIANS AND NEGROES 



While the evidence in the shape of shell heaps indicates 
a numerous Indian population in the dim past, the census of 
1765 mentions only five in Wellfleet. In 1802 it was voted 
to repair the Indian's house in the north part of the town, 
and make it comfortable. The reservation was on the Pamet 
Point road and the spot where the house stood can be seen 
as a small clearing. The property reverted to the town and 
is known as the Indian hinds. 

There was a negro family of unknown origin. The town 
record says that Samuel Gibbs was born October 6, 1770, 
and died August 9, 1823. His widow, Patience, died Novem- 
ber 2, 1828. 

They lived in the clearing between the Herring and 
Iliggins ponds. Patience Brook, that connects the ponds, 
probably derives its name from this fact. 

The son, Samuel Gibbs, Jr., married Delilah Sampson, 
the full-blooded Indian referred to, who was the last of her 
race in this vicinity. An old man, who as a boy lived 
near by, said, that on the occasion of his invasion of the old 
lady's orchard with the intent to steal peaches, she devel- 
oped a fine gift of profane declamation. 

Gibbs is said to have been something of a fiddler, knew 
eight tunes, but could only play four, one of which had a 
vocal accompaniment beginning: 

"Ring tailed shark in the bay. 
Loon in the Gull Pond." 

An old man who as a youth participated in the festivi- 
Page Forty 



ties said that when the young people gathered at the old 
man's house for a frolic, the charge was 25 cents, but when 
they carried rum and had a regular "singe" it was 50 cents. 
The only other family in Wellfleet were of the 
name of Pope and lived on Bound Brook Island. ]\Ir. 
Pope had been a steward of high degree in first-class ships 
of his time. His wife was a Southern negro. Their son 
Charles, born in Wellfleet, was last heard of in Baltimore. 



Page' Forty-one 



LATER EVENTS 



Since the decline of some of tlie earlier industries of tho 
town, the population, which reached its height in 1850, has 
materially lessened. 

The exodus of city people to the country and seashore 
during the summer season which has greatly increased in 
recent years has benefiUd Welltleet as well as other Cape 
towiis. 

As houses on the outskirts of the town were vacated by 
reason of removals to the village or to other towns, the resi- 
dences have been purchased or hired by city people, who 
enjoy sea breezes and summer rest. Many cottages near the 
shore, the beaches or ponds, have been erected. 

In the summer months the population of our town is 
nearly doubled by these sojourners, who, having come one 
year, are almost sure to repeat the experience. 



Page Forty-two 



CAMP CHEQUESSET 



In 1914, a Nautical Camp for Girls, known as Camp 
Chequesset, was established by Miss Alice Hamilton Belding 
of the Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Virginia, and 
Mr. William Gould Vinal of the Rhode Island College of 
Education. 

This is attended yearly by a large number of girls from 
all parts of the country, who enjoy the sea breezes, the warm 
waters of the bay, the out of door life, and pleasures of 
nature, woods, sea, and air, as well as an education in arts, 
crafts, and all nautical instruction. 

The speakers at the Camp are often celebrated lecturers, 
and the lectures are open to the public. 

Entertainments are often given by the Camp girls for 
the benefit of local and other worthy purposes. 

The National Association of Directors of Girls' Camps 
held their first Nature Lore School at this Camp in June of 
this year (1920). 



Page Forty-three 



NATURAL ATTRACTIONS 



The natural attractions of WeMeet are many. The 
ponds are numerous and in most of them fish abound. The 
bay is always delightful and with a smooth, clean, sandy 
beach, affords the best bathing in the world. The waves, 
or breakers, on the back or ocean side are majestic in a 
storm, and at all times beautiful. 

Gross Hill, so called from a notable family of ten sisters 
who once dwelt there, affords a view extensive and always 
charming. 

The roads through the Cape as far as Wellfleet are good 
and from here to Provincetown, soon will be in exeelle.it 
condition. 



Page Forty-four 



CAPE COD 



*'Cape Cod! 'tis a tiny, shapeless thing, 
A sandy crook on the shore 
Of the old Bay State, where sea-birds wing, 
And the red man ranged of yore. 

'Tis a section small on history's page; 

'Tis a crooked mark on the map; 
But it braves the Atlantic's fiercest rage 
And holds the bay in its lap. 

It has sand hills on its northern strand. 

Bleak, verdi^reless and wild. 
Which makes the sailor nearing land 

In a storm like a frightened child. 

It has hills and dales with verdure crowned, 

It has tiny lakes that lie 
"With pure white sand embosomed round. 

Where the wavelets gently ply. 

It has numerous pools and fish ponds neat, 

Where the red man's winter store 
Was kept from frost secure and sweet 

In the simple days of yore. 

But, fruitless as its soil may be, 

And barren as its sands. 
Its noble sons sail every sea 

And traffic in all lands. 

Paige Forty-five 



Its daughters fair and virtuous, too, 

Their sea-girt homes adorn ; 
Their hearts, as the needle, pointing true 

"Wherever they may roam." 




Page Forty-six 



RECORDS 



Record of Wellfleet residents who have died since 1887, 
being more than 90 years old : 

Mrs. Drusilla Laha, died August 9, 1887, aged 99 years, 
11 months. 

Mrs. Susanna C. Nicholson, died February 7, 1889, aged 
96 years, 4 months, 5 days. 

Isaiah H. Hatch, died June 4, 1893, aged 94 years, G 
months. 

Mrs. Matilda Wiley, died Fel)ruary 4, 1894, aged 90 
years, 6 months. 

Mrs. Betsey Rich, died October 1, 1895, aged 90 years, 

8 months, 1 day. 

Joshua Atwood, died January 26, 1899, aged 98 years, 
3 months, 28 days. 

Mrs. Azuba M. Daniels, died May 30, 1899, aged 9 1 
years, 4 months, 12 days. 

Mrs. Betsey Dyer, died March 18, 1901, aged 95 years, 
7 days. 

Mrs. Anne Hopkins, died February 17, 1903, aged 96 
years, 12 days. 

Mrs. Polly C. Snow, died September 7, 1905, aged 93 
years, 19 days. 

Mrs. Rebecca H. Freeman, died March 14, 1906, aged 
92 years, 4 days. 

Mrs. Phebe Rich, died February 22, 1911, aged 93 year<5, 
11 months, 22 days. 

Robert H, Libby, died October 10, 1911, aged 95 years, 

9 months, 10 days. 

Page Forty-seven 



Miirdoek Berrio, died May 22, 1913, aged 95 years, L3 
days. 

Mrs. Emeline Belcher, died January 22, 1915, aged 90 
years, 3 months, 7 days. 

Mrs. Betsey Higgins, died February 13, 1919, aged 92 
years, 4 months, 23 days. 

Michael Burrows, died June 27, 1919, aged 92 years, 10 
months. 

James M. Mott, died March 31, 1920, aged 96 years, 5 
months, 15 days. 

These are recorded as remarkable cases of longevity. 



'Of no distemper, of no blast they died, 

But like the autumn fruit that mellowed long 
* * * * 

Until at length worn out by eating time, 

The wheels of weary life at last stood still." 



Page Forty-eight 

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